Multilevel profiling and identification of Dalbergia odorifera and Dalbergia stevensonii by FTIR,NMR and GC/MS

As a rare and valuable wood and herbal material, Dalbergia odorifera is often counterfeited by Dalbergia stevensonii in the market. For the confident chemical identification of D. odorifera and D. stevensonii, the ethanol-benzene extractives are characterized by multiple metabolomics tools, including Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC/MS). Conventional FTIR spectroscopy, second derivative infrared (SD-IR) spectroscopy and two-dimensional correlation infrared (2D-IR) spectroscopy are combined to interpret the functional groups of the ethanol-benzene extractives. Fingerprint-like characteristics make FTIR a rapid and accurate method to distinguish D. odorifera from D. stevensonii. Chemical differences of the extractives revealed by FTIR methods can be further confirmed by ¹H NMR and ¹³C NMR. Meanwhile, the volatile compounds in the extractives can be identified by GC/MS. The combination of FTIR, NMR and GC/MS makes it possible to obtain the multiple profiles of the ethanol-benzene extractives, which is essential for the confident chemical identification of D. odorifera and D. stevensonii.